Business Strategy - case study of Apple Inc, and Dell Computers

Business Strategy - of Apple Inc, and Dell Computers - Case Study Example Dell Computers and Apple Inc. are two major ICT companies in the world. Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers started his business in 1984 by actually peddling his custom built PCs to users who are looking for bottom price PCs. Dell Company, named after the founder, rose to its heights in growth of sales and since then, from 2001 to 2006 led the PC market, getting a 19% share of the worldwide PC market, topping its from closest rival of Hewlett-Packard. (Enclyclopedia of eCommerce.) In late 2006s, Dell lost its lead to HP as sales began to decline and market share became 13.95 as against HPs 17.496 Apple Computer, was formed in 1976, but its name was later changed to Apple Inc. in January 2007. With continued strong sales of the Apple II, and the introduction of the Macintosh, Apple's sales reached new highs and the company had its initial public offering on September 7, 1984. (Associated Content. 2007) The PC industry is very competitive, and some of its closest rivals are Microsoft Corp, Dell Computers and Palm Inc. (Shlinds 2007) During its inception, demand for its products has been stagnant, and this led to the remarks of Dell CEO to say: "That if he ran Apple, he would shut it down and give the money back to its shareholders". [wikipedia] Because of innovations and new products the company introduced to the market, Apple's success has become tremendous. From 2003 to 2006 its stock price had increased to more than tenfold, from the initial offering of $6 to $80, with market capitalization going over Dell Computer. [wikipedia] Strategies utilized Dell Computers. Strategies of the company centered on three golden rules: disdain inventory, always listen to the costumer and never sell indirect (Kotelnikov. Vadim.) * Indirect selling practices thru mail order services limits its inventory, cuttingdown on handling costs. * Retail outlets were discontinued to cut on discount price practices of stores. * Delivering the best possible customer experience. Listening to customers, byintensifying their customer services approaches, putting service sites andmanufacturing plants in strategic places. Trained employees to satisfycustomers demands. Apple strategies. Apple Inc. was always one step ahead of its competitors as the company continued to think of innovative ways, new products and designs for their consumers. Shown below are strategies taken by the company in line with their innovations. 1. After the fall of sales in 1989, apple reinvented its products in 1991 and introduced laptops and PowerBooks models which helped the company regained its market. However, other lines developed were a flop and did not help the company in sales. 2. Allied with other companies to come up with new